Instagram follow feature restricted? Learn the platform rules and how residential proxies can help.

1. What is Instagram?

Instagram (commonly known as IG) is a social platform focused on sharing photos and short videos. It is owned by Meta and belongs to the same ecosystem as Facebook and WhatsApp.
Users can post life photos, short video clips (Reels), time-limited content (Stories), and also follow other accounts, like posts, comment, send private messages, and more.
Thanks to its visual-first approach and simple operation, Instagram has become one of the most loved social platforms among young people worldwide. It’s also widely used by brands, influencers (KOLs), and cross-border sellers for content marketing, audience growth, and brand promotion.

2. Instagram’s Latest Platform Rules

To maintain a healthy platform environment and prevent abusive behavior, Instagram has established a series of undisclosed usage limits—especially around the following actions, which are subject to risk control mechanisms:

Follow/Unfollow Frequency Limits: Following or unfollowing too many users in a short time.

Like/Comment Frequency Limits: Excessively liking or commenting on others’ content.

Private Message Limits: Sending a large number of DMs to non-followers, especially with links.

Duplicate Content Posting: Frequently posting similar or copy-pasted content.

Use of Third-Party Automation Tools: Such as auto-like, auto-follow, or auto-comment software.

These restrictions are monitored by Instagram’s backend in real time and dynamically adjusted based on account activity, behavior patterns, and device information. Once the risk control mechanism is triggered, your account may:

Temporarily be unable to follow users;

Be restricted from using certain features;

Receive the message: “Your actions have been restricted”;

In severe cases, be permanently banned.

3. What Behaviors Trigger Follow Restrictions on Instagram?

The following actions commonly cause Instagram to restrict the follow function:

Mass following in a short time (e.g., following over 20 accounts in one minute);

New accounts following too frequently without going through a “cold start” warm-up phase;

When you register a new account, avoid rushing to post or follow users, as this may raise account risk. During the cold start phase, refer to the behavior chart below to gradually build activity:

Behavior	Suggested Daily Frequency
Number of Follows	No more than 20
Likes	No more than 30 posts
Comments	1–5, with varied content
Browsing Time	10–20 minutes per day
Story/Feed Posting	1–2 times per week

Repeatedly unfollowing and re-following the same group of users;

Using automation tools to boost follower count (e.g., through scripts or bot software);

Frequent IP switching or logging in via public IPs, which Instagram may flag as suspicious behavior.

If the system detects unnatural behavior from your account, it may restrict your ability to follow others and show a warning message: “You are temporarily unable to perform this action, please try again later.”

4. Why Use Cliproxy Residential Proxies?

When you need to manage Instagram or perform data scraping more safely and stably, high-anonymity residential proxies are essential tools.
Cliproxy is a top-rated residential proxy service in 2025, compatible with Instagram, Amazon, Twitter, and more. Its key advantages include:

Real Residential IPs with High Anonymity
Cliproxy offers global IPs from real users’ home networks. Compared to data center proxies, they are much harder for platforms to detect as “bot activity,” effectively avoiding risk control systems.

Automatic IP Rotation to Reduce Ban Risk
Supports auto IP rotation based on access frequency, preventing a single IP from being overused and flagged.

Optimized for Social and Web Scraping
Whether for marketing, account management, or content scraping (like extracting Instagram user data), Cliproxy is optimized for stability, greatly reducing CAPTCHA triggers and feature restrictions.

High Compatibility with Tools
Cliproxy provides a self-service API interface, seamlessly integrating with common automation tools (like Webscraper, Octoparse, Python scripts), ensuring stable network support for scraping or account operations.

If you need a proxy service to create new Instagram accounts, you will need clean, stable, and always-online IPs. In this case, we recommend Cliproxy’s static residential proxies. These proxies are clean, reliable, long-lasting, and affordable—an ideal choice for users.

Conclusion

Instagram’s rules are becoming increasingly strict, especially regarding the frequency of actions like following, liking, and commenting.
Triggering the risk control mechanism not only disrupts account operations but can also lead to functionality bans or even permanent suspension.

To avoid these issues effectively:

Follow the platform’s rhythm—avoid high-frequency actions;

Use high-quality residential proxy services like Cliproxy to reduce detection risks at the network level.

If you are a content creator, cross-border operator, or automation enthusiast, a combination of behavioral discipline + premium proxies will be the key to stable Instagram growth and influence expansion.